Kung Fu Panda 3 Review

The Overview
Dragon Warrior and Kung Fu Master, Po (Jack Black), faces a new threat and must once again save the day. Along the way Po must learn some new skills but also learn how to be a panda when he is reunited with his father, Li (Bryan Cranston).

The Good
The original Kung Fu Panda was a real surprise hit. Having constantly lived in the shadow of other animation giants, Pixar, Dreamworks pulled a great film out the bag, that expertly combined humour, a fun story and gorgeous animation. In some of these aspects, the 3rd instalment in this series, succeeds once again.

The animation is absolutely gorgeous and it’s well worth seeing in 3D to appreciate this fully. It’s head and shoulders above some of the more generic Dreamworks offerings. For me they will always be the poor man’s Pixar, but it’s certainly a wonderfully animated film.

There’s some genuinely funny moments, and the humour is pitched at the right level to please both adults and children. As always seems to be the case, a lot of the funniest moments are spoilt in the trailer, but there’s still plenty to chuckle at in this light-hearted, entertaining film.

It’s maybe slightly less action packed than the previous two, but the extra panda characters add some cute fluffiness into the mix, and Bryan Cranston as Po’s father, Li, is superb.

The Bad
Now that we’re 3 films into this series, it is inevitable that parts of it will start to feel repetitive, and the storyline in Kung Fu Panda 3 is easily the weakest in the trilogy. Parts of it feel rehashed, the threat isn’t new and it feels rather formulaic. Based on this I’m not sure this series has much life left in it, and maybe it is time Po hung up his nunchucks.

It is not as heartwarming as it tries to be and not as funny as it should be; there was great opportunity for some lovely panda family bonding, but this seemed overlooked in places. It is funny, but definitely not as funny as the previous two also.

The Verdict

I saw this movie and you should too. It’s flawed but adorable, and still worth a watch despite some drawbacks. Kiddies will lap it up, but there’s less here for the adults than in the previous 2 films. That being said the animation is beautiful, maybe the best out of the trilogy so far, so worth seeing just for that. Pay the extra fee and see it in 3D; it’s rare I would recommend 3D, but this animation really lends itself to that format.

Agree with everything I’ve said, or am I a terribly misguided idiot who has got it all wrong? Please let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to share as well.